Sprialing Down
by adac50
Summary: Steven's message from Homeworld has reached all corners of the Gem Empire. In a garden floating through space, a gem who never expected a message like this grapples with what it means for her.


The Diamond communicator's screen flickered as the message from Homeworld began again.

"Once upon a time, the Gem Homeworld was ruled by Diamonds: White, Yellow, Blue, and the littlest Diamond, Pink."

How could she? Didn't Pink like her? Wasn't Pink her friend?

"While the other Diamonds conquered many worlds across the galaxy, Pink had only one - the planet Earth."

They were playing a game,

"One day, Pink fled the comforts of Homeworld."

It was a game, right?

"On Earth, she made a new home, new friends, and finally, new life; giving up her form to bequeath her gem to her half-human son."

What did she do wrong? Did Pink hate her so much that she abandoned her and started a new life on Earth?

"Without Pink, Gemkind entered an era of despair."

Spinel was her friend, her BEST friend. She had done something wrong but what? If Pink told her she could have tried to change but, instead, she left her in a withering garden.

Pink's son, Steven Universe was on the screen now.

"How's it going, everybody? I know you all might be thinking of me as the new Pink Diamond, but you don't have to put me on a throne. I already have a rightful place, and it's on Earth."

Was the Earth that much more fun than Spinel?

"It's a beach house, where I live with my friends, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl."

Were her new friends more fun than Spinel?

"As much as I've loved dismantling the empire and saving all your planets, I can't wait to get home and spend some quality time with my friends."

White Diamonds annoyed face appeared and the transmission ended. After a few seconds it started again.

Spinel screamed and slammed her fists into the ground. For the first time anger roared inside her. The world seemed to go white; her chest felt warm, her head felt stuffy and dull, and she felt her arms and legs tingle. She walked around the garden in a daze until she neared a pond. Spinel could hardly process what she saw. Her hair buns were wild, her face had dark streaks running down her cheeks, her outfit lost its doughy curves and was now sharp angles and worst of all was her gem! Her perfect heart-shaped gem had flipped upside-down.

Was this why Pink left? Is this what she saw when she looked at Spinel? A worthless, malformed gem? Would anyone recognize her now? Was there a gem left who cared enough to?

Why did she have to have these memories? Everyone else had put her out of mind so why couldn't she just forget about them?

"Why can't I just forget...about..." Spinel froze.

Did she still have it? Her gem glowed and out came a small black rod. Everyone forgot all about Spinel so she would forget everyone.

Just like...

It was shortly before Pink abandoned her: Pink had been pleading harder than ever with the other Diamonds for a colony of her own and had been turned down, eventually by White Diamond herself. Pink had been beside herself since she had returned to the garden and as her best friend Spinel had to turn her frown upside-down even if it meant doing a headstand forever.

Spinel came up with an idea to have injectors dance to cheer Pink up. After asking some Peridots nicely she had dozens of injectors dancing, all controlled by turning her hand into a big cone and using it to play music. The dancing injectors had made Pink so happy, which made Spinel even happier.

Unfortunately, the injectors' tiny legs didn't gift them with grace. After the dance number, all but one had been smashed beyond repair. News of something that disastrous naturally made its way to Yellow Diamond.

Spinel had just finished doing a rousing jig when the warp pad at the back of the garden activated.

"Pink." Yellow Diamond said as she stepped off the warp pad with a handful of Gems trailing behind her.

"Oh, Yellow! Why are you here?" Pink said.

"You know exactly why I am here. You ruined dozens of injectors for your own amusement. Such a waste of resources is unacceptable."

"I would never do something like that on purpose," Pink retorted.

Yellow looked at Pink appraisingly, "I find that hard to believe. Irresponsibility like this is exactly why you don't have a colony."

"But-"

"I'm not here to argue, Pink, I'm here to clean up your mess. Again." Yellow motioned and her retinue parted.

The Peridots that had reprogrammed the injectors stepped forward.

"If you can't keep your gems under control then I will find a better use for them." A bulky quartz gem pulled out a dark pink rod.

"Wait that's-Yellow you can't punish them for something that is my fault!" Pink had completely lost her composure.

Yellow cocked her head, "Punish them? This is your punishment. You are unable to manage these Peridots so they'll be rejuvenated and reassigned. Unlike Blue I find shattering gems to be so wasteful. Better to repurpose flawed gems than to destroy them."

The quartz activated the rejuvenator, it extended outward and a scythe blade formed at the top.

"Yellow stop-" before Pink could finish the quartz struck all five Peridots in one swing, their gems clattered to the floor.

"Now when they reform you are to give them their reassignment. This should be something your Pearl would do but you'll have to handle this yourself, won't you Pink?"

Pink face scrunched up as she kept her gaze on the floor.

Yellow glanced to her side, "Pearl?"

"Already sent, my Diamond." The smug-faced Pearl said.

The quartz wielding the rejuvenator knelt and presented it to Pink, "My Diamond."

Yellow Diamond continued in her lecturing tone, "Keep that rejuvenator as a reminder of how to manage your gems properly,"

Pink took the rejuvenator and gripped it so tight the device creaked. Yellow turned and walked back to the warp pad, giving Pink a sidelong glance she said, "And Pink? Don't make me come back here again."

With that, the warp pad activated and the garden was quiet.

Spinel was waiting for Pink to scream and cry but she just stood there. Eventually, Pink said, "Spinel, I have a game I want to play." Spinel lit up. "A game? What is it?!"

"I want you to hide this somewhere I'll never find it." She handed the rejuvenator to Spinel. "Hide it really, really good ok?"

"You got it!" Spinel said as she snatched it and ran deeper into the garden.

Now where to hide it? Maybe under some rocks? No, she might juggle those and Pink would see it. In a pond? No, the water might be needed to make a giant water balloon.

"Oh, I know!" Spinel shouted.

Spinel usually kept things inside her gem to pull out for comedic effect, but hiding the rejuvenator in there would be the one place Pink would never think to look!

With the rejuvenator hidden Spinel made her way back to Pink. She could hear Pink talking to the reformed Peridots, who were all giving her a rigid salute.

"You all know where you need to be and what to do." Pink said followed by a chorus of "Yes, My Diamond!" The Peridots all began to march in single file towards the warp pad. Spinel waved at the Peridots, "Hey guys, what's up?" She was met with blank stares.

Spinel giggled, "Oh are we playing the quiet game? I'm terrible at that."

"Uh, do I know you?" One of the Peridots asked.

"What? I'm Spinel silly!"

"Spinel." Pink motioned for her to be quiet. Pink glared at the Peridot who gave a hurried salute and nearly ran to the warp pad.

"I don't get this game." Spinel said after they left.

Pink sighed, "It isn't a game Spinel. The rejuvenator erased their memories so they don't remember you. They're just as they were when they emerged from their Kindergarten."

"The rejuvetator did that to them? How come they only forgot me?" Spinel asked. Before Pink could answer Spinel gasped, "Would I forget me if I was hit by it?"

Pink smiled sadly at Spinel, "It doesn't just make them forget you, Spinel. They forget everyone."

Spinel froze. Forget...everyone? Everyone includes Pink, and that would mean-

Spinel started to cry, "But," large tears were falling down Spinel's face, "I would never want to forget you."

Pink put a hand on Spinel's head and smiled warmly, "Don't worry Spinel, we'll never forget each other. We'll be together forever."

Spinel wrapped her arms around Pink, "Together forever."

Spinel wiped her eyes as she broke from her reverie. She activated the rejuvenator and with a crackle of electricity, its scythe blade formed. Satisfied that it still worked she turned it off and put it back into her gem. Anger was the only thing driving her forward, she needed these memories to keep it burning in her heart. They left her here for so long; she just wanted to hurt them, and this rejuvenator would be the first part of her plan.

She moved to the warp pad at the back of the garden and stepped onto it, with a flash of light she arrived in the hanger dedicated to maintaining the garden.

There were still ships lined up as she remembered, but those weren't what she was looking for. In a corner was what she wanted: an injector full of poison used to deal with weeds in the garden. It was the only modified injector left and hopefully, it still worked. Her hand stretched itself into a cone and she blew into it. The sound of a horn echoed around the hanger and the injector lit up as it powered on. With so much poison left this would surely destroy the Earth. Spinel laughed darkly, "Perfect," she thought.

A hatch on top opened up and Spinel used her stretchy limbs to climb inside.

"-de a new home, new friends, and finally, new life; giving up her form to bequeath her gem to her half-human son."

A communicator was replaying Homeworld's transmission. Spinel gritted her teeth as the transmission droned in the background. The lights on the control panels flickered, waiting for input. She inspected one of the monitors, "Controls overridden, voice commands only. Welcome, SPINEL."

"Take me to Earth."

Vocal pattern unrecognized.

"Take. Me. To. Earth."

Vocal pattern unrecognized.

Spinel growled angrily. It did what she wanted before! Maybe if she...

Spinel turned her hand into a small cone and blew into, picturing what she wanted the injector to do.

Destination set: Crystal System Colony Planet Earth. Warp systems charging.

Spinel could hardly contain herself. She would use this injector to kill all organic life on Earth, while that happens she would use the rejuvenator on Steven and his friends. She wasn't too sure what it would do to Steven but that didn't matter. Getting to watch him struggle to stop her injector without his friends was exactly what she wanted.

The warp drive activated and a few minutes later she was in orbit above the Earth.

Steven appeared again on the communicator. With a frustrated scream Spinel smashed it into the wall.

"I already have a place it's here on Earth," Spinel said to herself mockingly. "On a beach house with Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl."

"They all must be laughing it up. 'Oh, that Spinel! If only she could be here but she's not worth the trouble!' They'll be sorry they ever heard the name Spinel!"

The Injector began its descent, its sensors picking up a large concentration of gems. That had to be where they were.

As the injector broke through the clouds she saw four figures below in front of some tall building.

Spinel smiled, "I think it's time I introduced myself to Pink's other friends."


End file.
